The present invention relates to a converter and conversion method, and more particularly, to a converter and conversion method for changing a conversion characteristic according to a user""s instruction, an image processing apparatus employing the converter and conversion method, and a recording medium in which information related to the conversion method is recorded.
Color conversion is an essential process for apparatuses forming color images. Therefore, conversion characteristics are determined so as to realize image quality which is acceptable to many users while taking the best advantage of the apparatus feature.
As the applicable range of color image forming apparatuses has expanded, it is difficult to satisfy all users with a provided default conversion characteristics only. A user can change the conversion characteristics through a user interface which is provided for operating the color image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, conversion processing according to user""s instruction (hereinafter referred to as user unique conversion processing) is handled differently from default conversion processing. A default conversion processing is mostly realized by matrix operation called masking processing. Therefore, even if the user unique conversion processing is added to the masking processing, the processing time hardly becomes a problem.
Meanwhile, the amount of image data processed by a color image forming apparatus increases every year, and the demand for a high quality image is rising. Therefore, instead of simple masking processing, highly optimized conversion processing using a lookup table (LUT) is necessary in the default conversion processing.
In addition to the increased operation amount in the conversion processing, because color image forming apparatuses are more frequently used, reduced time in color image formation is demanded, thus requiring an increased speed in the conversion processing. However, increasing the speed of the conversion processing is limited if the default conversion processing and user unique conversion processing are performed sequentially as shown in FIG. 1.
Furthermore, when two or more conversion processes are combined into one LUT to effectively increase the overall conversion processing speed, a problem arises in that the conversion characteristics are changed, which will be described later in detail.
The present invention is made in consideration of the foregoing problems, and has as its object to provide a converter and conversion method for executing default conversion processing and user unique conversion processing at high speed, an image processing apparatus employing the converter and conversion method, and a recording medium in which data related to the conversion method is recorded.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a converter comprising: instruction means for instructing a conversion characteristic desired by a user; generation means for generating conversion process data where a default conversion characteristic and the instructed conversion characteristic are integrated; and conversion means for executing conversion processing based on the generated conversion process data.
Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide a converter and conversion method which can suppress changes in a conversion characteristic when conversion processes are integrated, and a recording medium in which data related to the conversion method is recorded.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a conversion method of performing conversion processing by generating a conversion table where two or more conversion processes are integrated, the method comprising the step of generating the conversion table based on grid position data respectively corresponding to a permutation of conversion processes to be integrated, the grid position data provided additionally to data representing the conversion processes to be integrated.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a converter for performing conversion processing by generating a conversion table where two or more conversion processes are integrated, the converter comprising: acquisition means for acquiring grid position data corresponding to permutation of the conversion processes to be integrated, the grid position data being stored in one of information representing the conversion processes to be integrated; and generation means for generating the conversion table by integrating the conversion processes to be integrated in the integration order, based on the acquired grid position data.
Still further, the present invention provides a converter for performing conversion processing by generating a conversion table where two or more conversion processes are integrated, the converter comprising: acquisition means for acquiring a grid position data identifier corresponding to a permutation of the conversion processes to be integrated, the grid position data identifier being stored in one of information representing the conversion processes to be integrated, and acquiring grid position data, corresponding to the acquired grid position data identifier, from the data or another data from which the grid position data identifier is acquired; and generation means for generating the conversion table by integrating the conversion processes to be integrated in the integration order, based on the obtained grid position data.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.